Congress walks out of West Bengal House demanding discussion on law and order

The Opposition Congress staged a walkout from the West Bengal Assembly on Thursday demanding discussion on law and order in the state following the death of a hotel owner in Howrah town allegedly due to a threat call by a local gangster.

Congress leader Manas Bhunia and some other members moved an adjournment motion demanding a discussion on the issue, but Speaker Biman Banerjee rejected it yet allowed him to read it out. The Speaker turned down the request of Congress Legislature Party leader Md Sohrab for discussion on the issue since no arrest had been made despite complaints by the victim's family and the hotel manager. Unhappy with the decision of the Speaker, all Congress members walked out of the House till recess.

Describing law and order in the state as 'alarming', Bhunia later told reporters outside the House that police inaction on the issue had raised a big question mark on the state government's attitude. Alleging that gangsters of the ruling party had taken law and order in their own hands in Howrah across the river where state secretariat 'Nabanna' was located, Bhunia wondered about the same in other parts of the state. Bhunia questioned that if a hotel owner died after being threatened over phone and a jute mill CEO was killed within the mill premises and police failed to take action, how would investors come to the state and where would Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's plan for industrialisation stand.

Sohrab said that the scenario revealed the condition of law and order in the state.